Question on sx-70

XitzpatX

TPF Noob!
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Ok so my dad had given me his Polaroid sx-70, it's the first model of the sx-70. And I had just bought some film for it. And I was wondering if it does auto exposure? And if the dial for exposure on the right of the camera was just to over ride the camera for certain portraits and such. -thanks
 
I have an SX-70 around here, somewhere. To the best of my recollection YES, it was an automatic exposure SLR, and the "normal" way to set the Lighten/Darken control is at the neutral setting. The idea was to shoot a shot, develop it, and then see how it came out...if it needed to be lighter, well, a mark-and-a-half or so on the Lighten side would usually do it...unless of course it was wayyyyyyyyyy too dark, then you'd need to move the control wheel much more than 1.5 units.
 
Yes, the SX-70 uses auto exposure. The dial you refer to, modifies the auto exposure.
This camera was an engineering marvel and is a true SLR. The optical design was innovative and is all done with specially designed mirrors.
The film packs are also the battery for the camera.
ITT made an electronic flash for it since the flashbulb bars were expensive.
On the downside the leatherette covers tended to rot.
I ended up selling mine with the electronic flash and leather case to a Japanese collector for $90. It was about 20 years old.
 
You still managed to get film for that old camera, you lucky so and so, get out and enjoy it, what a camera that was in its day, not cheap to run but a classic
 
Ok so my dad had given me his Polaroid sx-70, it's the first model of the sx-70. And I had just bought some film for it. And I was wondering if it does auto exposure? And if the dial for exposure on the right of the camera was just to over ride the camera for certain portraits and such. -thanks

Yes, it's auto exposure. The dial was intended to be used to "lighten" or "darken" the finished prints. That is, if you took a photo and it was a little too light or dark you could adjust the dial accordingly and take another. There were a number of SX70 models and they were all auto-exposure. Some also had auto-focus. These were called "SX70 Auto-Focus" and "SX70 Sonar" cameras. The auto-focus feature used ultrasonics and could operate in total darkness.
 
JSER said:
You still managed to get film for that old camera, you lucky so and so, get out and enjoy it, what a camera that was in its day, not cheap to run but a classic

Yeah, just look up "the impossible project". They produce a few different kinds of color and monochrome film for the sx- 70 and 600 series, it's not the cheapest ( about $25 per box) but defiantly worth it for fresh film
 
Old sx-70 is probably dead, as it didn't hold up well in the best of times.

Impossible Project is you only option these days.

Have fun, it was a great camera and is considered to be one of the 100 best designs of the century.
 
I have a couple of the original SX-70s without the split-image focus aid, with the wiring harness rather than flat-ribbon cable for the electronics- that original generation had some issues. The version that followed seems to have held up much better, or at least mine has since 1977. The SX-70 Sonar still works as well. The SLR680: had one with a bad circuit board, the flash capacitor leaked. Polaroid rebuilt it for me in 1999. The leather on my SX-70 and SX-70 Sonar has held up, the vinyl of the "Model 2": did not.
 

Most reactions

New Topics

Back
Top